Julie's Back
by CountryGrl
Summary: Malcolm is surprised to discover that his old friend Julie Houlerman has moved back from New York. Unfortunately for Malcolm, Reese has spotted her too. Will either of the brothers be able to impress Julie?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Julie disappeared from the series after season 1, and I wanted to bring her back for a fic. This is my first story for this site. As you'll probably be able to tell, I don't live in the US, so the narrative might sound a bit stilted to you. Oh well. Please review, try to be nice! :)**

**DISCLAIMER: Malcolm in the Middle was created and is still owned by Linwood Boomer. Sad but true. **

It was Friday afternoon. Malcolm should have been pleased. School had finished for the summer. Eight weeks of freedom lay ahead of him.

And yet somehow, it just left him feeling empty.

Francis was working so there was no chance of seeing him all summer. Stevie wouldn't be around either since he was on vacation, which left just Reese, Dewey and Jamie. Malcolm liked his brothers okay - some of the time, anyway - but eight weeks with nothing much to do except fight and get grounded seemed a pretty bleak way to spend the summer.

He was walking the long way home from school, eyes to the pavement. Usually he met Reese at the gates but he'd told his brother not to wait up.

He knew his mom would be mad if he was late home but he wasn't really bothered. He had a whole summer of sitting around at home, tormenting and being tormented, so a few extra minutes wouldn't go amiss.

He kicked a stone absentmindedly along the path, not really paying attention to where he was going. And then suddenly he slammed into someone.

The someone was a girl: petite, blonde, blue eyes. And she'd obviously been carrying a pile of books, which were now strewn across the sidewalk around Malcolm's feet.

''Um, let me get those,'' he mumbled as they both bent down to pick them up. As they did so, they banged their heads together in the middle.

''Sorry,'' they both said at once. Malcolm could feel himself blushing when he realised the girl was staring at him intently.

''Malcolm?'' she said, sounding unsure.

''Yeah, how did you...''

And then suddenly, he remembered who she was.

''Julie?''

She smiled. ''That's right.''

Malcolm gulped. ''Um. Wow.'' he said intelligently.

She laughed, and collected up the rest of the books before straightening up. Malcolm stood up too.

''I can't believe it,'' she said, ''I haven't seen you in such a long time!''

Malcolm nodded, dumbly, still unable to speak properly.

''My family moved to New York,'' Julie explained, ''Four summers ago. I didn't have time to tell anyone from school because I only found out in the middle of the vacation.''

Malcolm was acutely aware that his mouth was opening and closing like a goldfish. _When did she get so pretty? _he wondered.

''It's so good to see you,'' Julie enthused. Then she seemed to realise he hadn't been speaking for a while. ''Malcolm? Are you okay?''

He blinked, and managed to say, ''Um, yeah... I'm fine.''

''Careful you don't catch flies,'' Julie said, grinning.

He closed his mouth. ''So, uh, are you over here for the summer?''

''Nah,'' said Julie, taking the rest of her books from his outstretched hands. ''I moved back here with my mom. Hudson Street. The house is over there,'' she said, pointing.

Malcolm nodded. ''This road backs on to my street. So, uh, why did you move back?''

Julie looked away, wouldn't meet his eyes. ''My mom and dad split up.''

''Oh,'' he said awkwardly. ''I'm sorry.''

Julie smiled weakly. ''Yeah, well, my mom wanted out of NY and so did I, so I moved back with her.'' She shook her head, as if to pull herself together. ''Oh well. It'll be good to see all my old friends again. How is everyone?''

Malcolm shrugged. ''Okay, I guess. School just broke up for the summer.''

''Cool,'' Julie said, smiling. ''Maybe we can hang out sometime.''

Malcolm nodded a bit too eagerly. ''Yeah, I'd like that.''

''Well,'' said Julie, ''I guess I should go. I'm still unpacking, but mom left the car here instead of parking on the drive. She didn't want to attract too much attention from the neighbours.''

Malcolm nodded. ''Well, I'll see you around.''

As he walked away he was grinning like a monkey. He couldn't seem to stop. He hadn't realised how much he'd missed Julie Houlerman.


	2. Chapter 2

Reese was coming out of the front door when his brother arrived, with a stupid grin plastered over his face.

''What're you so happy about?'' Reese demanded.

''Nothing,'' said Malcolm, his expression not changing.

''Whatever. Freak.'' Reese muttered, as he passed his brother. If Malcolm heard the insult, it didn't seem to bother him.

Malcolm was still grinning as he went indoors, past where his mom was cleaning the sink in the kitchen and on toward his bedroom.

Lois turned as he entered, just caught his blissed-out expression as he walked past her.

''Malcolm, you're late home,'' she yelled after him.

No reply.

She sighed and went back to scrubbing the sink, frowning as she dislodged yet another lump of slop from the plughole. ''When was the last time we had shepherd's pie for dinner?''

..........

Reese was on his way to his friend Mike's house. Well, come to think of it, Mike wasn't really his friend - but he had an outdoor heated pool and one time Reese had kicked the ass of a guy who was about to pound Mike into a coma, so Reese figured he wouldn't mind him coming round.

As he was walking, he wondered why his left trainer always got so much dirtier than his right one. It was weird. He wondered if it counted as a science project. His teacher, Mr Freeman, had given the class an assignment over the summer vacation, which was totally unfair, but Reese was willing to do it if it meant a chance at passing at least one class. As long as it didn't require too much work, of course.

Just as he was wondering this, he caught sight of a girl, a really pretty girl, struggling down the road trying to carry what looked like some really heavy boxes.

He sprinted over to her. Mike could wait (he didn't even know he was waiting.)

''Hey,'' he said casually to the girl, ''Want some help with that?''

''Gee, thanks,'' she said, smiling gratefully. She let him take the box which was on top. ''I'm Julie. I just moved in.''

''I'm Reese,'' he said, proud of how cool and off-hand he sounded.

''Hey, wait, don't I already know you?'' Julie exclaimed. ''You're Malcolm's brother, right?''

Reese raised his eyebrows. ''Yeah.''

''Don't you remember me?'' she laughed, fluttering those gorgeous eyelashes.

''Um...I don't think so,'' he replied, still trying to sound casual.

''I don't really blame you, I guess I look pretty different than last time I saw you,'' Julie admitted. ''I was in fifth grade. I was coming to pick up Malcolm, only your dad had his music turned up real loud...''

''Oh, I remember!'' Reese suddenly exclaimed. ''And you tripped over the wire and went flying... Man, that was hilarious!''

''Actually, I still have a scar,'' Julie interrupted.

''Oh.''

''Just kidding,'' she laughed. ''Oh boy, your face just then was classic.''

Reese relaxed. Laughing at her like that had been a goof, but it seemed like she didn't mind.

''So, you just gonna stand there all day or are we gonna take these boxes indoors?'' Julie asked him.

''Oh, uh, sure,'' he mumbled, and followed her up the driveway towards the house.

For a friend of Malcolm's, Julie Houlerman wasn't half bad.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hello again! This is the next chapter...**

**I still don't own Malcolm in the Middle. *bangs head against wall***

**Thanks LTJM and puppylov1231 for your reviews, I hope you like this part! **

Malcolm got up early the next morning, even though it was Saturday. He was psyched to be seeing Julie again. Okay, so they hadn't agreed on a time, but she'd definitely said she wanted to hang out with him. And he figured, why wait?

He showered, dressed, checked his hair in the mirror for slightly longer than usual, and made his way outside.

Hudson Street, like he'd told Julie, was right near his house. He hoped he could remember which house was hers.

All the way there, he was panicking inside his brain.

_What if she doesn't like me? What if she thinks I'm a freak? What if she thinks I'm too short? What if I mess up again?_

Cringing, he remembered the last time Julie had been over to _his_ house. It was a long time ago, but he could still feel the blush rising in his cheeks as he pictured the look on her face as she'd burst into his bedroom to find him in his underpants, frantically trying to blowdry his shirt.

_Relax, _he told himself, _if you don't mention it, neither will she. She's probably forgotten all about it by now anyway. _

He rang the doorbell.

_Just be cool, and don't say anything stupid. You can totally do this._

It seemed like an eternity before Julie finally answered the door. She was dressed in dark green overalls, splattered with white paint, and yet she still managed to look like a supermodel.

''Malcolm!'' she said excitedly. ''I wondered if you'd drop by, too! Come on in, we're painting my bedroom - it's so much fun!''

Malcolm followed her, wondering who the 'we' was. _Probably just her mom, _he guessed.

Julie led him into her room, and Malcolm nearly died of shock.

''REESE!'' he yelled. ''WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?''

Reese looked up from where he was kneeling on the floor, sweeping a paintbrush up and down the nearest wall. ''Painting.'' he said innocently.

Malcolm was too shocked to speak. Julie giggled, took his arm and pulled him in to the room. ''Come on, Malcolm, grab a paintbrush!''

Dumbly, Malcolm let her slip a paintbrush into his right hand. He started working on the patch of wall in front of him, still wondering if he was dreaming.

''It's so great to see you guys again,'' Julie gushed. ''I really missed everyone from school.''

''How was New York, Julie?'' Reese asked politely.

''Oh, man, it was _awesome_,'' she replied. ''You ever been there?''

''No,'' said Reese before Malcolm could answer. ''But I want to, someday.''

''Maybe you can come with me, both of you, when I go back to visit my dad,'' Julie said, her voice losing some of its cheerful tone.

''I guess you must miss him, huh,'' said Reese sympathetically.

''Yeah,'' she said softly. Reese stood up, put his paintbrush in the tray, and slowly wrapped his arms around her comfortingly. All Malcolm could do was watch, dumbfounded as Julie buried her head in his brother's shoulder.

Reese's expression was clear: _you lose_.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hi again!**

**Here's chapter 4. Thanks for your reviews LTJM (again!) and Pirate Bob (even though you are obviously quite mad. :) and I mean that in the nicest possible way.) **

**This is the fourth time I've tried to upload..sorry..but it's kind of good cos I'm now up to chapter 6. Which, if it lets me actually upload, should be up tomorrow. **

**Anyway...hope you like it!**

Malcolm was sulking moodily on the couch when Reese arrived home. He couldn't believe what his brother had done. As far as he was concerned, Julie was his for the taking. Reese hadn't even known her that well before she'd moved. He was obviously only after her now because she'd got so hot. He didn't know Julie like Malcolm did. He didn't know anything about her personality. He had no idea how kind and caring she was, how pretty her eyes were, how pretty her hair was...

''When did Julie Houlerman get so hot, huh?'' Reese said smugly, sitting down beside his brother.

''I don't want to talk about it,'' Malcolm mumbled.

''Oh well, I guess she just likes older men,'' Reese said casually, though he was clearly rubbing it in. ''Or maybe it's your ears.''

''Okay, Reese, you've made your phoney point,'' Malcolm snarled. ''Now leave me alone.''

''Someone's touchy,'' Reese said, pretending to cower in fright.

''Yeah, yeah.'' Malcolm reached for the TV remote in an attempt to get his brother to shut up, but Reese wasn't going to let him drop it.

''Okay, so tomorrow, Julie said we should both meet her at the park,'' he continued. ''I'm willing to play fair if you are.''

Malcolm looked at him, expecting him to look smug and self-assured, but he just looked sincere, which was unusual for Reese.

''How come you arranged to meet up? She was crying when I left.''

Reese smiled. ''I cheered her up pretty quick. I guess I just have a way with these things.''

Malcolm punched him in the stomach.

''Ow! What was that for?''

Malcolm ignored the question. ''Okay, Reese. We play fair on Julie tomorrow. Just don't be too upset if she calls you a creepy faker.''

''Whaddya mean?'' Reese looked confused.

''Reese, I know you're only pretending to like Julie because you know I have a crush on her.''

As soon as he'd finished, Malcolm knew right away that had been a bad move.

''You have a crush on her?'' Now Reese looked amused. ''That's so sweet.''

''Reese, if you tell **anyone**, I swear I'll...''

They were interrupted by the loud ''Ping!'' of the microwave from the kitchen. They both turned to see Dewey, carrying a huge bag of microwave popcorn. Smiling, he came and sat on the coffee table in front of them, the popcorn bag on his lap as if he was watching a movie.

''Continue.'' Dewey said. ''It was just getting interesting.''

''Give me some of that,'' demanded Reese, reaching forward and grabbing a handful of the popcorn.

Malcolm was getting worried now. ''Reese, if you say **anything--''**

''Relax, I said we'd play fair,'' Reese said through the mouthful of popcorn. ''Just don't be too upset if she calls you a freaky little gnome.''

...........

Julie was unpacking her stuff, throwing it out of the boxes angrily. She felt so humiliated. How could she have just started crying in front of Reese? And Malcolm?

At least Malcolm had had the sense to get out of there as soon as she'd started. Reese had hung around slightly longer than she would have liked, but finally he'd gone when she agreed to meet them both at the park tomorrow afternoon, and left her in peace.

They were sweet boys and all, but she really didn't feel ready to talk about her parents' breakup yet with anyone. Least of all with a boy.

Still, she was looking forward to seeing them both the next day. She had a lot of catching up to do, especially with Malcolm. They used to be such good friends, but they'd both changed a lot in four years. She realised she didn't really know anything about him any more.

_Oh well_, she thought, _I guess I'll find out tomorrow_.


	5. Chapter 5

Malcolm and Julie were sitting on the park bench. Alone. Reese was nowhere in sight. It was pure bliss.

Julie was talking about New York and...something. Malcolm wasn't listening. He was just staring into her perfect blue eyes. How could someone so beautiful actually be talking to him?

After a little while he realised she'd stopped talking, and was staring right back into his eyes. _Here goes_, he thought, slowly moving in to kiss her...

Suddenly her eyes dropped down and widened. She drew back from him in shock.

Malcolm, dreading what he would see, looked down and saw that he wasn't wearing any pants.

''AAARRRGGGHHH!''

Dewey groaned, rubbed his eyes and sat up, annoyed to be disturbed from sleep. ''Malcolm? Are you okay?''

Malcolm was breathing deeply, his heart hammering in his chest.

It was okay. It was just a dream.

He shook his head to clear it, and could just make out Dewey's face in the dark.

''I'm fine.'' he said, more to reassure himself than Dewey. ''It was a dream. That's all.''

Dewey sighed. ''I shouldn't be being nice to you,'' he said, ''after all the lies you told _me _to give _me _nightmares when I was little, but do you want a glass of water? You look kind of...''

''Yeah.'' said Malcolm. ''Thanks, Dewey.''

He'd calmed down by the time Dewey was back with the water, which he took gratefully.

When he'd finished, Dewey said, ''Now go back to sleep, and if you wake me up again your next glass of water will be going _over _your head.''

........

They'd arranged to meet Julie at 11. Reese was strangely calm as they walked to the park, whereas Malcolm could feel the beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. He tried to tell himself that there was nothing to be worried about. She was only Julie. She was only the most beautiful goddess in the whole world and if he messed up, he'd only have to crawl into a hole and die...

Reese was mentally going over his repertoire of favourite jokes, trying to decide which ones Julie would like most. He didn't have a soda can so the ''walk on the beach'' one was out. But he still had the ''wet dog breath'' one, and he was pretty sure the only reason the last girl hadn't liked it was because...

He never completed the thought. Julie was walking towards them. She was so...hot.

He'd never been one for words. But he seemed to have a little more idea how to use them than Malcolm at that moment.

''Hey Julie,'' Reese greeted her.

''Hi Reese,'' she said cheerfully, ''Hi Malcolm.''

Malcolm managed to come out of his trance just in time. ''Hey.''

''So, you wanna go sit down?'' she asked, pointing to a free bench under a huge tree a few metres away. The same bench from Malcolm's dream.

Even though he knew it was stupid, he found himself looking down to check he was wearing pants this time.

Letting out a breath of relief he didn't know he'd been holding, he followed Reese and Julie to the bench.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Thanks LTJM for reviewing each chapter, I'm glad you're enjoying it! I'm nearly done now, maybe only one or two chapters to go... **

**DISCLAIMER: Linwood Boomer owns all rights to MITM. He is king. Bow to him.**

The cutest thing about Julie, Reese decided, was that she totally didn't know she was cute. She was just sitting there, listening to Malcolm talking his brain crap - but only pretending to listen, he could tell - twirling a few strands of her gorgeous blonde hair with one finger, her blue eyes bluer than even the bluest thing he'd ever seen in his life.

Malcolm could see that Julie was really interested in his explanation of advanced acid reactivity. She was even nodding in the right places as he talked. So she was beautiful _and _smart. It just kept getting better and better. He wished Reese would stop gawping and go away so they could be alone...

It was all Julie could do to hold back a yawn. She'd been politely listening to Malcolm droning on for at least 10 minutes now. It was a good thing he was cute, else she'd have had a hard time watching him all this time and pretending to look interested. There had to be a way of getting him to shut up...

Suddenly she had an idea. ''Oh no,'' she said worriedly, looking down at her wrist.

Malcolm and Reese were both looking at her. ''What is it?'' asked Reese.

''I was wearing the sapphire bracelet my mom got me,'' she bluffed, ''and it's gone! I guess it must have fallen off somewhere in the park.''

Reese jumped up right away. ''I'll go look for it.''

Julie was about to protest, but he'd already ran off, back the way they'd come. Hmm. She'd been counting on Malcolm going to get the bracelet and Reese staying behind...

Malcolm had to admit, that had been a pretty good way of getting Reese out of the way. Julie really was smart! And the best part was, now they could be alone. Finally they could talk.

Julie started telling him all about New York - the places she'd been, the people she'd met, the stuff she'd bought... ''But you don't really wanna hear all this,'' she said finally.

''No, really, it's fine,'' said Malcolm. ''I could listen to you talk forever.''

_It's a pity I can't say the same about you_, Julie thought, but instead she said, ''Ah. That's so sweet.''

For a moment, all Malcolm could do was give her a goofy smile.

It was quite a long moment.

''So, uh, Julie...'' he said slowly.

''Yeah?''

''Can I, uh...''

He wanted to say ''_Can I kiss you?_''. But the words stuck in his throat and he was just left gazing dumbly at her again.

''Maybe I should just go help Reese look for your bracelet,'' he said lamely. He stood up and slunk away miserably. Why was he so useless at this?

Reese was sprinting towards him, holding something silver and blue in his hand.

''Julie, I found it!'' he yelled.

Julie got up and came to meet them. ''Oh, gee, thanks, Reese,'' she said slowly, taking it. Of course it wasn't hers, but she couldn't tell him that now.

''Anything for you,'' said Reese happily, casually slipping his arm around her shoulders.

Malcolm walked away in disgust. Reese was dumb, _he_ was the smart one, so how come Reese always managed to say the right thing and he was left looking like a total moron?

They walked home from the park, Julie and Reese laughing and joking, Malcolm a few paces in front of them, staring at the ground in stony silence. _Why can't I ever be happy?_

''Hey, Malcolm,'' Julie said, ''Reese and I are gonna finish painting my room after this, wanna help?''

''So long as I won't be in the way,'' he said sulkily.

''Of course not, silly,'' she laughed. ''Come on.''

_Oh well, _Malcolm thought to himself, _making a fool of myself one last time won't really make much of a difference._


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Thanks LTJM for reviewing every chapter! Its nice to know at least one person is enjoying it! :) I hope you like this chapter! **

By the time they'd reached Julie's house, Malcolm was filled with an irresistible urge to punch Reese in the face. He was just so relaxed around Julie, it was infuriating! What made it worse was Reese was _stupid_! How could someone like Julie be interested in someone like Reese? Yesterday morning he'd asked Malcolm how come his toenails always grew back however many times he cut them, and now, Julie was actually listening to one of his moronic jokes! And laughing! _There really is __**no **__justice in the world_, Malcolm thought.

They worked on painting the walls of Julie's bedroom for a while, Malcolm gazing sullenly at the paintwork while the other two talked. After a few minutes, Julie put down her paintbrush and stood back from the wall.

''You know what, I'm real thirsty,'' she said, ''I'll go fix us all a snack. Back in a minute!''

As soon as she'd left, Malcolm and Reese stood facing each other, Malcolm glaring, Reese grinning smugly.

''What you looking at?'' Reese asked, amused.

''I don't know, but the label says _faker_.''

''Oh, so now we're resorting to cheap shots.''

''Reese, I'm not going to pretend I know how your tiny brain works, but even you must know that pretending to like someone just to annoy someone else is just evil. Not to mention stupid.''

''I'm not pretending!'' Reese insisted. ''I like her and she likes me - you're just gonna have to accept that.''

''I can't believe how low you're willing to stoop just to score one over me,'' Malcolm said, disgusted.

''When are you gonna learn that everything isn't always about **you**? Just cos you're a genius doesn't make you the most important!''

''Will you just shut up?''

Before he could even think, Malcolm was barrelling forward, bent over, and within a second he'd headbutted Reese in the stomach.

Caught off-guard, Reese tumbled to the floor, right near the tub of paint.

''That is _it_,'' he muttered darkly. He dipped his paintbrush in the tub and threw it at Malcolm. Malcolm ducked out of the way, and it landed, white paint flying everywhere, on top of a box full of Julie's stuff which she hadn't unpacked yet.

An _open _box.

Malcolm gasped, as he saw all the books, magazines and other items inside were covered in paint. ''You moron!'' he yelled. He picked up the paintbrush - it was a thick handled one which would probably hurt quite a lot if it hit you - and threw it back at his brother.

It hit Reese square in the face, he'd been staring in shock at the ruined box of Julie's belongings.

As it hit him he doubled back against the wall, hands flying to his face.

Malcolm could hear the sickening ''crack'' as the heavy metal handle made contact with his brother's mouth.

For a split second he allowed himself to hope that Reese wasn't hurt, that he'd managed to miss him.

Then Reese stood up, blood gushing out of his mouth, his eyes narrowed in fury.

Malcolm was frozen; his gut instinct being to get the hell out of there but his legs refusing to move.

It was almost like everything was happening in slow motion: Reese lunged for the tub of paint, picked it up, leaned backwards, ready to launch it in Malcolm's direction...

...just as Julie opened the door...

...and then the paint was flying everywhere, all over the pile of boxes in the corner, all over Malcolm, and all over Julie.

There was a tiny moment when everything seemed like a dream, like it wasn't really happening...

And then Julie was screaming, and they knew that it was.

Reese was just standing there, eyes open wide, the practically empty paint can still in his arms.

Malcolm was wiping the paint out of his eyes and trying not to swallow any as he struggled to breathe.

Julie was still screaming.

_**We are so dead**_, Malcolm thought.

Julie stopped screaming and started shouting instead.

''How could you do this? You _idiots_! All my stuff's ruined! And there's paint everywhere! What were you thinking? _What is wrong with you_?!''

_**Now she sounds like Mom**_**, **Malcolm thought. _**Uh-oh**__._

''We're really sorry, Julie,'' Reese said sheepishly.

''_**SORRY**_**?'' **Reese flinched. ''You think _**sorry**_ is gonna be good enough? Look at this! I can't believe you, I thought you were my friends! I actually liked you, and trusted you! I never knew you were such _**jerks**_!''

And with that, she turned and left the room.

Malcolm and Reese were left standing there, Malcolm covered in paint, and blood still dripping off Reese's chin.

''Well,'' said Malcolm slowly, ''I think we both know we've been pretty dumb.''

Reese nodded.

''We should probably go home,'' Malcolm said worriedly. ''Your mouth's still bleeding.''

Reese tried to talk but he just got a mouthful of blood. He nodded again.

''Mom is gonna kill us,'' said Malcolm as they left the room. ''But she still won't be as mad as Julie.''

....................

Malcolm emerged from the shower an hour later, having got most of the paint off at least, to find Reese sitting on his bed, pressing a large white bandage against his jaw.

Shivering through his towel, Malcolm sat down on the bed he shared with Dewey, opposite Reese.

''Well, I think we both learned something today,'' he said, trying to make a joke of it.

''Yeah,'' said Reese, ''Never argue with someone holding a paintbrush.''

''Look, Reese,'' said Malcolm, sighing, ''I'm sorry I hit you with the brush. I was just so...''

''Save it,'' said Reese, wincing, as he'd spoken a little too fast and got a jolt of pain through his bottom jaw.

''Does it still hurt?'' said Malcolm, trying to be sympathetic.

''What do you think?''

''Yeah. Stupid question I guess. What did Mom say?''

''I told her someone chucked a ball at me at basketball practice. You're already grounded enough as it is for the paint.''

''Yeah. I guess I deserve it.''

''Yeah.''

''So. I guess we won't be seeing Julie around for a while.''

''She'll get over it.''

''Yeah. Give her a couple of years.''

Reese smiled weakly. ''She wasn't my type anyway.''

Malcolm grinned. ''Yeah. Any girl who doesn't take her top off within five minutes isn't your type.''

''Shut up!'' Reese said, laughing despite himself (and despite how much it hurt.)

They laughed for a minute, then there was silence.

Finally Malcolm said, ''I'm sorry I was a jerk, Reese.''

''Me too.''

''You didn't do anything that bad.''

''I flirted with a girl you liked to make you jealous, then I showered you with paint. I think I'm just as big a jerk as you.''

''Fair enough.''

''Let's just stay out of Julie's way for the rest of the summer,'' Reese said.

''Shouldn't be too hard,'' Malcolm agreed. ''She's not gonna want to talk to us anyway.''

''Boys! There's someone here to see you!''

.....................

Julie was standing in the living room with their mother, looking immaculate, with not even a spot of paint to be seen.

''I just came to return Reese's sweater,'' she said, in a fake-cheerful voice, holding out Reese's red sweater which she'd borrowed at the park.

Reese took it from her. ''Thanks.''

''No problem,'' she said. ''If you ever need to redecorate your room, I'd be happy to help with that too.''

''Julie, we're really sorry,'' Malcolm put in. ''You've got to believe us.''

''I do,'' said Julie. ''It still doesn't make a difference. Goodbye!''

And with that she was gone.

''All right,'' Lois said threateningly. They'd forgotten she was still there. ''What did you do to her?''

And Malcolm realised then that his summer was going to be even worse than he'd thought.

**AN: Please review! I would like to know what you think!**

**I have known it was going to end this way since about chapter 3, I was going to have Julie stay with one of them, but I realised I love them both too much to choose! (Also I thought this is more like MITM! They never get the girls! Well, hardly ever.)**

**Anyway...please review! :) and bear in mind this is the first time I've tried anything like this, please tell me even if you think it's rubbish! **


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